May 20, 2013

SFHM1 week -4

I'm still on sabbatical, so I had time to fit in runs without any chance to blame work for getting in the way. Slowly, but surely, despite gluttonous activities like homemade whole milk mozzarella and whey pizza dough, I'm reclaiming some of the lost fitness. Before I get to the running data, here's some food porn:

Claravale Farms Raw Whole Milk

The New Gas Grill Gift from E gets all the way up to 750F if we're patient enough. Perfect Pizza Temps!

There is an inordinate amount of whey left after a batch of mozzarella.

And not that much mozzarella to show for an hour of work and 1/2 gallon of milk to start with.

Thankfully, some of the whey can be reused in the pizza dough

One of the dozen or so BBQ pizzas that we made while I was on sabbatical. Success!

T: I was visiting my aunt and uncle in beautiful San Luis Obispo county, so I took the opportunity to walk the dogs with my aunt as a warm up: 0.79 miles. Then I headed out for 2.55 at a medium hard effort and averaged 9:15 min/mile. 0.38 walking c/d.

W: Track Day. Awesome. The assignment was Yasso 800s with a very long rest (3:50 for F, which typically translated into something closer to 3:40 for me). I knew I wasn't in fabulous shape, but I also knew I was getting more fit, so I was curious to see how this workout played out. I decided to target 4:00 as the goal pace and hold on until I couldn't anymore. I made it through the first 5 okay, but then started to really slow, so after the 7th, I decided to do the last two as 400s targeting 1:55. Splits: (4:02; 4:02;
3:59; 4:03; 4:03; 4:09; 4:12; 1:56; 1:51). With jogging to the track, recovery walk/jogs, and walking back to the car, it was an awesome 7.49 mile workout, with friends.

Th: True rest day. Impressive that I managed to pull this one off without work commitments, as I told myself I'd go to Bikram. But, the reality is, the momentum hump to get me into that hot room is huge. And I had meetings in SF, and errands and chores, and the next thing I knew it was dinner. Oh well...

F: Alpine Ridge/Portola Valley Loop with F. This loop is a killer. But it's also a great training run to increase your fitness. F and I headed out together for the first few miles, but eventually she started dropping me and coming back to make sure she didn't get too far ahead. This was a big help, because I didn't want to slow her down more than I had to, so I kept up my pace as best I could. After telling her to push it on the final downhill miles, I did the same. Overall: 11.56 miles @ 10:58 avg pace with 1183 total elevation gain, 50% horse trails, 50% pavement. Only one walk break on a very steep hill, where I took a Gu. This is probably the hardest I've pushed myself on a run in a long time. I was nauseated and weak at the Deli after we finished and had to excuse myself to go outside and sit down while I finished my lemonade. I recovered quickly, but I confirmed for myself that I very much left it all on the loop, which felt good. Bonus -- this loop is more elevation change than I will hit on the first half marathon of SF, and 2/3 of what F will hit on the full.

Sa: E and I were in Half Moon Bay for a weekend getaway. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset through the windows of aptly named Miramar Restaurant on Friday night, and Saturday AM we headed out for a nice easy 3 miles on the Coastal Trail. It was much more rugged than expected with many short, steep ups and downs, roots, paths that disappeared, etc. But it was a great way to start the day. 3.01 in 32:18. Then we clamored down the bluffs to the beach and walked the beach for a while until we could climb back up the bluffs and take a shower. We also went for another walk along the beach to watch the golfers before dinner. Total mileage for the day: 6.91 miles (plus some impromptu rock climbing).

Sun: Taking advantage of the hotel, we slept in. I finally fit in my core and stretching for the week at the hotel gym. 30 minutes of yoga and abs. My hip flexors thanked me.

Overall, it was a solid week totaling 37.31 miles. I need to get my paces to be a bit faster in the next few weeks, but I'm happy with the volume.